The Fool's Aeon
by BloodBoredom
Summary: Aigis' feelings after the end of P3 and after the conclusion of The Answer. Minato x Aigis. Oneshot.


-The Fool's Aeon-

_The rain was relentless that day..._

_People from across Tatsumi Port Island had come together on such a dark day.  
_

_The mechanical maiden recorded the entire event.  
_

_When people, when a family, have come to bury one of their own.  
_

_Today, they bury Minato Arisato.  
_

"How're you holding up?" a familiar voice lined with sadness asked the blonde.

"I am alright Kirijo-san," the mechanical maiden adressed her senpai.

"That's good," Mitsuru paused, "if you ever need someone to talk to after this, we're always here for you."

"Thank you," Aigis smiled at the other woman.

_"All the comforts and condolences in the world won't bring him back," the blonde thought to herself, "but we must press on, despite the pain, for **his** sake."_

_And it was then, unbeknownst to the many in attendance, in the cold rain, that Aigis mourned.  
_

_-The next day-  
_

_...5:00 AM...  
_

_The mechanical maiden did not understand, she knew that **he** was gone, and yet, the blonde stood in front of his door like the many times she had for the entire year._

"Why am I here?" Aigis asked herself, "If I open this door, **he **won't be sleeping on that bed."_  
_

_*Creak*  
_

_It was as the girl thought, no one was in the room.  
_

"Even without anyone here, it still feels like **him**, like **he **was still here," the blonde mused as she stared at the bed with longing.

"I would have scanned for **his** vitals then," Aigis grinned at the fond memory, "is this truly how cruel the world is?"

_A single tear fell from the blonde's eye..._

"When I had finally found myself," sadness present in the girl's voice, "the one who gave me my reason was taken away."

_Another tear moistened the mechanical maiden's eye..._

"I must be malfunctioning," she stared at her own hands, soaked with her sadness.

_-The Answer-_

_It had been a week since SEES had dealt with the Abyss of Time, since the team had renewed their resolve and found a new more purposeful reason to go on.  
Yukari and Aigis had decided to be roommates, not too far from Fuuka. Ken received a full scholarship from Mitsuru's company and found himself some new friends. Junpei had straightened his act and visited Chidori, who was slowly recovering her memory, everyday, the girls found it touching, like a scene from a Nicholas Sparks novel. Mitsuru and Akihiko both went to college, the former taking up the Kirijo family business and the latter training to be a policeman. Time had truly passed for the group.  
_

_-Minato's Grave-  
_

"It's been awhile since I was last here huh?" the blonde lowered her head as she cleaned the dust off the headstone with her immaculate hands.

"We had another adventure right in the dorm," Aigis smiled, "but I guess you know that already."

"It is difficult," the girl paused, "moving on, I mean."

_The mechanical maiden grasped the headstone tightly with both hands as her legs gave out._

"We miss **you**," the now-senior high schooler said, "all of us."

..._1 hour passes..._

_The girl was sitting in front of the boy's grave, waiting for a sign. Night had just fallen and the light of the moon was shining in the sky._

"I guess I should head back now," the girl said with a lift in her mood.

_"Wait..." an ethereal yet familiar voice called out._

"?" time had stopped around the blonde and she slowly turned her head.

_In front of Aigis was a familiar room of blue..._

_But the occupants she had acquainted herself with were not there..._

_Instead, it was **him**... _

"Are we inside the Room?" the blonde asked the bluenette.

"..." the boy nodded quietly.

"Hm?" the girl looked away, "Can you not speak?"

"..." in his usual silence, Minato turned his head.

"I see," the mechanical maiden looked the bluenette in the eyes once more, "I trust you heard everything I said."

"..." the boy gave another silent affirmative.

"Are you alright wherever it is you are right now?" she asked with a concerned look in her eyes.

"..." the boy got up and stood face to face with the girl before nodding and embracing the blonde.

"You are still **warm**," Aigis said in a mix of joy and sadness.

_The pair stood silent in their embrace for what felt like forever to the two._

"This is the real you right?" the blonde cried.

"..." the boy nodded.

"When will I see you again?" Aigis posted a question to Minato.

_The bluenette closed the distance between their faces and whispered to the girl's ear, "...Always."_

_And in a brilliant flash, the Velvet Room vanished around them and time had slowly started to resume once more.  
_

"Was I merely dreaming?" the girl asked herself.

_As if fate had decided to answer the girl's question, a blue butterfly zipped around her._

"This feeling," the mechanical maiden focused on the butterfly that circled her, "I feel silly for asking."

_-A month later-_

_People had started taking notice of the blue butterfly that followed Aigis around wherever she went, there were rumors that spread about it being the ghost of the boy she loved, haunting her waking moments, but that was the exact opposite of what it was, she didn't feel haunted in the slightest.  
_

_-9:30 PM-  
_

_Aigis was alone in her room, Yukari was preoccupied with a group project that had to be done in a classmate's house.  
_

"Did I ever tell you about my dream last night?" the blonde looked at the blue butterfly that rested on her hand.

_A faint glow followed the butterfly's wings as they flapped._

"I dreamt that you were still _alive_," the girl smiled at her "friend", "it's funny how much time could pass in a single night's dream."

"We both finished school," Aigis moved to her bed, "and you and I were still together."

"..." the butterfly's glow grew stronger.

"We had a son," _the butterfly's wings slowed down a little as it continued listening to the girl, _"he was every bit as curious as you were, but he had my eyes and hair."

"We named him..." a stream of tears had formed in the girl's eyes as she fought the pain of knowing that this dream would never come true, "_Teddie._"

_The brilliant Velvet light of the butterfly's wings had enveloped the room until the light moved from its wings and flowed elsewhere, to a rural town called Inaba, but that is a story for another time.  
_

_-End-  
_


End file.
